Monsta

MONSTA have been described as having the melodic synth thrum of Flux Pavilion, the tech-soul vocal drops of Moby and the reverberant snares of trip-hop act U.N.K.L.E. -but their sound is instrument-based and largely sample-free and it was Skrillex who found them. The trio (producers Rocky and Rufio and vocalist Skaar) will release their first EP on the electronic dance music (EDM) star’s indie imprint OWSLA this summer.“I was at South by Southwest with my manager Tim [Smith] and a few friends,” says Skrillex. “Tim says, ‘I got something,’ and pulls up [MONSTA's ‘Holdin' On’]. I said, ‘That’s a sick track and a cool vocal sample. Where’d they get that from? Is that Aretha Franklin?’’ But it wasn’t a sample. It was Skaar’s powerfully androgynous performance of an original song